The present invention relates to an upholstery support for the back of a vehicle seat, in particular a backbench of an automobile.
DE 44 02 864 C2 discloses a known seat back upholstery support, which comprises a first flat sheet metal element as a base plate and a second sheet metal element, which is provided with a peripheral channel section. The costs of material and manufacture of this seat back upholstery support are quite high.
One aspect of the present invention is the provision of an improved seat back upholstery support. In accordance with this aspect, the upholstery support includes at least one modular reinforcing frame that is at least partially positioned proximate the periphery of a base plate and is permanently connected to the base plate.
A modular construction of the reinforcing frame permits making with the same reinforcing frame different seat back upholstery supports, which meet with different requirements, for example, with respect to stiffness or geometric dimensions. This reduces the costs for tools and, thus, the costs of manufacture. To save material, the reinforcing frame is initially provided in a basic form, preferably only in sections of the base plate.
In the case of need, for example, when greater load absorptions are expected, additional reinforcing elements are joined to the reinforcing frame. For example, the additional reinforcing elements can result in a closed frame and/or produce a further possibility of force distribution in the longitudinal direction.
In the case of other geometric requirements, the basic form of the reinforcing frame may be divided at predetermined breaking points and rejoined in a different configuration. The additional cost in the assembly is negligible in view of the advantages of the modular construction. As parts to be separated, the legs of the reinforcing frame present themselves with a configuration that deviates from a straight-line shape. For example, the legs can have offset shapes. In this connection, the exchange of legs makes it possible to reinforce in a reliable manner seat back upholstery supports with different widths of the base plates. In a preferred construction of a divided seat back with a plurality of seat back upholstery supports, the legs to be replaced originate preferably from different reinforcing frames, i.e., an exchange occurs crosswise, so that the initial form of each reinforcing frame needs to include only a single, specially shaped leg.
Preferably, the modular construction of the reinforcing frame is supplemented with the possibility of selecting different hinge means for connecting the seat back upholstery support. Preferably, the hinge means are mounted to the reinforcing frame.